1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus, a method of installing an open services gateway initiative (OSGi)-based service, a method of providing an OSGi-based service, and a computer-readable recording medium, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus, a method of installing an OSGi-based service, a method of providing an OSGi-based service, and a computer-readable recording medium, which can perform function expansion for bundles preinstalled in an OSGi framework.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid progress of digital technology and Internet penetration, digital home technology provides services so as to help general users in everyday life. However, the digital home technology's aim to provide various services by utilizing external communication and home networking so as to share a high speed Internet, files, and peripheral apparatuses has been limited.
There is an open services gateway initiative (OSGi) service platform made to be operated on the basis of a JAVA Virtual Machine as a typical service platform of the digital home technology. The OSGi provides basic service such as hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), service management, and log service on a framework. Service providers can provide service by deploying their own services in bundle form on the OSGi framework. In particular, since the OSGi supports the conventional home network technology such as universal plug and play (UPnP), Java intelligent network infra-structure (Jini), home audio video interoperability (HAVi), the OSGi is applicable to various environments such as a television (TV) settop box, a cable modem, an alarm system, an energy control system.
It is possible to export or import the functions of one bundle to another bundle used in the OSGi, and use the bundles. Thus, it is possible to make an expansion between bundles and obtain reusability and recombination of functions based on flexibility between the bundles.
However, in the related art, bundles communicate between one another by reusing an interface between the bundles through expansion and communication of functions.